Wirthlin Worldwide, an international
research firm, conducted a Handwashing Observational and
Telephone Survey in August 1996 for the Bayer
Corporation Pharmaceutical Division, in association with
the American Society for Microbiology. Among their
findings:

• People do not wash their hands as
  often as they think they do. Wirthlin's telephone
  survey found that 94% of respondents (1004 adults)
  claimed they always wash up after using the restroom.
  The observational survey viewed 6333 adults in public
  restrooms in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans
  and San Francisco (3236 males and 3097 females) and
  found that only 68%, in fact, did so.

• Women washed their hands more often
  than men (74% versus 61%).

• The telephone survey found that
  people are most likely to say they wash their hands
  after changing a diaper (78%) and before handling or
  eating food (81%). Questioned about other activities,
  far fewer said they washed their hands after petting
  an animal (48%), coughing or sneezing (33%), or
  handling money (22%).


• A study of 305 Detroit school
  children found that youngsters who washed their hands
  four times a day had 24% fewer sick days due to
  respiratory illness, and 51% fewer days lost because
  of stomach upset. Under the supervision of Dr. Susan
  Longe (then at Providence Hospital and Medical
  Centers, Southfield, MI) teachers in six classrooms
  had children wash their hands on arrival, before
  lunch, after recess, and before leaving for the day.
  The students' sick days for a 37-day period were
  compared to eight other classrooms that did not have
  scheduled handwashing. Although the handwashing
  reduced sick days, it had no effect on visits to the
  doctor, prescription or OTC drug use, or parents' loss
  of time at work.

• A review of surveillance data for
  U.S. foodborne disease outbreaks over a five-year
  period (1988 - 1992) by the Centers for Disease
  Control and Prevention found that, of 2874 outbreaks,
  contributing factors were reported in 1435 and that
  poor personal hygiene was a contributing factor in
  over a third (514) of them.
  

  Nancy H. Bean et al., Journal of
  Food Protection, Vol. 60, No. 10, 1997; 1265-1286

• Plain hand soaps, antimicrobial
  hand soaps, E2 rated hand soaps (a USDA Classification
  requiring equivalency to 50 parts per million
  chlorine), and instant hand sanitizers were evaluated
  for their effectiveness in reducing bacteria on hands.
  Results showed that all three types of hand soaps were
  effective, when using a 20-second wash procedure, in
  reducing bacteria on hands, with the E2 soaps
  significantly more effective than the other two types
  of soaps. The instant hand sanitizers resulted in a
  significant increase in bacterial numbers on hands.

^* Distributed July
1998 for use in September 1998 as part of the
International Food Safety Council's




National Food Safety Education Month.